[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31832-31833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-12994]
[[Page 31832]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Procedures for
Considering Requests and Comments From the Public for Textile and
Apparel Safeguard Actions on Imports From Colombia
AGENCY: International Trade Administration (ITA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 30, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th
and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet
at [email protected]).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should
be directed to Robert Carrigg, Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S.
Department of Commerce, Telephone: 202-482-2573, Fax: 202-482-0858,
Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
Title III, Subtitle B, Section 321 through Section 328 of the
United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act
(the ``Act'') [Public Law 112-42] implements the textile and apparel
safeguard provisions, provided for in Article 3.1 of the United States-
Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (the ``Agreement''). This safeguard
mechanism applies when, as a result of the elimination of a customs
duty under the Agreement, a Colombian textile or apparel article is
being imported into the United States in such increased quantities, in
absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article, and
under such conditions as to cause serious damage or actual threat
thereof to a U.S. industry producing a like or directly competitive
article. In these circumstances, Article 3.1 permits the United States
to increase duties on the imported article from Colombia to a level
that does not exceed the lesser of the prevailing U.S. normal trade
relations (NTR)/most-favored-nation (MFN) duty rate for the article or
the U.S. NTR/MFN duty rate in effect on the day before the Agreement
entered into force.
The Statement of Administrative Action accompanying the Act
provides that the Committee for the Implementation of Textile
Agreements (CITA) will issue procedures for requesting such safeguard
measures, for making its determinations under Section 322(a) of the
Act, and for providing relief under section 322(b) of the Act.
In Proclamation No. 8818 (77 FR 29519, May 18, 2012), the President
delegated to CITA his authority under Subtitle B of Title III of the
Act with respect to textile and apparel safeguard measures.
CITA must collect information in order to determine whether a
domestic textile or apparel industry is being adversely impacted by
imports of these products from Colombia, thereby allowing CITA to take
corrective action to protect the viability of the domestic textile
industry, subject to section 322(b) of the Act.
Pursuant to Section 321(a) of the Act and Section (9) of
Presidential Proclamation 8818, an interested party in the U.S.
domestic textile and apparel industry may file a request for a textile
and apparel safeguard action with CITA. Consistent with longstanding
CITA practice in considering textile safeguard actions, CITA will
consider an interested party to be an entity (which may be a trade
association, firm, certified or recognized union, or group of workers)
that is representative of either: (A) A domestic producer or producers
of an article that is like or directly competitive with the subject
Colombian textile or apparel article; or (B) A domestic producer or
producers of a component used in the production of an article that is
like or directly competitive with the subject Colombian textile or
apparel article.
In order for a request to be considered, the requester must provide
the following information in support of a claim that a textile or
apparel article from Colombia is being imported into the United States
in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to the
domestic market for that article, and under such conditions as to cause
serious damage or actual threat thereof, to a U.S. industry producing
an article that is like, or directly competitive with, the imported
article: (1) Name and description of the imported article concerned;
(2) import data demonstrating that imports of an Colombian origin
textile or apparel article that are like or directly competitive with
the articles produced by the domestic industry concerned are increasing
in absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that article;
(3) U.S. domestic production of the like or directly competitive
articles of U.S. origin indicating the nature and extent of the serious
damage or actual threat thereof, along with an affirmation that to the
best of the requester's knowledge, the data represent substantially all
of the domestic production of the like or directly competitive
article(s) of U.S. origin; (4) imports from Colombia as a percentage of
the domestic market of the like or directly competitive article; and
(5) all data available to the requester showing changes in
productivity, utilization of capacity, inventories, exports, wages,
employment, domestic prices, profits, and investments, and any other
information, relating to the existence of serious damage or actual
threat thereof caused by imports from Colombia to the industry
producing the like or directly competitive article that is the subject
of the request. To the extent that such information is not available,
the requester should provide best estimates and the basis therefore.
If CITA determines that the request provides the information
necessary for it to be considered, CITA will publish a notice in the
Federal Register seeking public comments regarding the request. The
comment period shall be 30 calendar days. The notice will include a
summary of the request. Any interested party may submit information to
rebut, clarify, or correct public comments submitted by any interested
party.
CITA will make a determination on any request it considers within
60 calendar days of the close of the comment period. If CITA is unable
to make a determination within 60 calendar days, it will publish a
notice in the Federal Register, including the date it will make a
determination.
If a determination under Section 322(b) of the Act is affirmative,
CITA may provide tariff relief to a U.S. industry to the extent
necessary to remedy or prevent serious damage or actual threat thereof
and to facilitate adjustment by the domestic industry to import
competition. The import tariff relief is effective beginning on the
date that CITA's affirmative determination is published in the Federal
Register.
Entities submitting requests, responses or rebuttals to CITA may
submit both a public and confidential version of their submissions. If
the request is accepted, the public version
[[Page 31833]]
will be posted on the dedicated Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement
textile safeguards section of the Office of Textile and Apparel (OTEXA)
Web site. The confidential version of the requests, responses or
rebuttals will not be shared with the public as it may contain business
confidential information. Entities submitting responses or rebuttals
may use the public version of the request as a basis for responses.
II. Method of Collection
When an interested party files a request for a textile and apparel
safeguard action with CITA, ten copies of any such request must be
provided in a paper format. If business confidential information is
provided, two copies of a non-confidential version must also be
provided.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: None.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular submission (new information collection).
Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 6 (1 for Request; 5 for Comments).
Estimated Time per Response: 4 hours for a Request; and 4 hours for
each Comment.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 24.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $960.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.
Dated: May 23, 2012.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-12994 Filed 5-29-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P